To honor his years of service to the county and state, Wichita County will name a courtroom at the Arthur R. Tipps Juvenile Justice Center after Judge Robert P. Brotherton.

Wichita County Chief Juvenile Justice Probation Officer Kirk Wolfe spoke to the Wichita County Commissioners' Court about the project at their regular meeting Tuesday.

Wolfe said Brotherton is set to retire in 2018, and they wanted to honor him for all he has done to serve the citizens of the county and the state. Thirtieth District Court Judge Brotherton started his term with the county in May 1989, and will retire at the end of December 2018.

In addition to his District Court duties, Brotherton serves as the Wichita County Juvenile Court Judge and has served as chairman of the Juvenile Board on numerous occasions.

In 1995, Brotherton was appointed Vice Chairman of the Texas Juvenile Probation Commission. He was appointed Chairman of this commission in 1998, and served as chairman until 2005.

Commissioner Barry Mahler said it was a well-deserved honor for all the judge has done at the county and state level.

Commissioners unanimously approved the item and lettering. Other preparation will be paid for jointly through the county Juvenile Probation Department budget and the Permanent Improvement Fund.

Wolfe said there will be lettering on the exterior of the building and lobby area entryway outside the courtroom. Inside the courtroom, there will be a portrait of Brotherton and a plaque outlining his accomplishments.

In other county matters, commissioners approved moving forward with the bid from Santa Rosa Construction company for the District Attorney, Civil Division Office renovation.

Last week, commissioners tabled the item because they were hesitant to approve the more than $435,000 job with just one bid. Harper Perkins Architects designed the project for the county and Glenda Ramsey with HPA said they were stumped as to why there was only one bid. Ramsey said there were multiple companies that showed interest and she was receiving calls about the project as late as the final day of bidding. She said Santa Rosa is qualified and it was an acceptable bid in their opinion.

For comparison on recent prices, Ramsey said the courthouse renovation will be about $90 per square feet, and a similar project they are doing at Midwestern State University will come in at about $125 per square feet.

Initially, the court thought this project would cost about the same as the County Clerk’s Office renovation. Ramsey said there were significant differences between that project and this one including more floor space, bathrooms, plumbing, major demolition, mechanical and electrical work.

Another big difference is this project will include night work, which costs more, and there will need to be security for the building at night (about $40,000). The project also includes removal and rebuilding of a handicapped-accessible ramp on the second floor of the courthouse. Ramsey said the current ramp has an incorrect slope and landing for what is currently required by the Americans for Disabilities Association.

Commissioner Jeff Watts, who will be project manager for the work, made a motion to move forward with the project keeping in mind they will be working toward negotiating some of the costs with Santa Rosa. Watts added they will continue to add to the county’s permanent improvement fund and continue much-needed renovations throughout the courthouse and courthouse annex.

County Tax Collector-Assessor Tommy Smyth was named project manager for renovation in is offices and other parts of the first floor of the Sixth Street Courthouse Annex.

Many of the updates are cosmetic, such as fresh paint and floor tiles, but as the face of the county for hundreds of transactions a week, an update was needed for this area. Mahler noted the bathrooms on that floor have problems and will need to be replaced.

Smyth will work with HPA to create a scope of work and address any ADA-compliance needs. The renovation will extend to all public areas on the first floor.

Smyth said they are considering an open concept like changes made by other Texas county tax offices. If they cannot do the open concept, at least one of the booths in each department on that floor will have a lower, handicapped-accessible booth.

HPA said they have not had enough time to review this project and they did not yet have an estimated cost or start date for this renovation.